1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an automatic fabric treatment appliance with a manual fabric treatment station.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional fabric cleaning methods for portable fabrics typically employ a liquid bath wash to clean clothing fabrics and other materials composed of textiles. A typical household washing machine and dryer arrangement is used for cleaning durable types of clothes that may contain water soluble stains and easily removable particulates. A dry cleaning process is used for those fabrics that are susceptible to changes, such as shrinkage or damage, during a regular wash process.
Single wear usage of otherwise clean clothing typically results in the accumulation of small amounts of particulates, such as soils, and hairs, on the fabric surface, or the occasional relatively minor stain or odor that may become impregnated into the fabric. In this “not clean, not dirty” zone, one finds oneself confronted with the dilemma of either wearing the slightly soiled clothing article in limited situations where one's embarrassment is minimized or expending the time, cost, and energy of having the clothing article laundered or professionally treated to clean status prior to re-wear.
Several prior art products have been developed that permit some degree of fabric cleaning removal of soils, particulates, and hairs from a worn yet not dirty (i.e., not clean, not dirty) clothing article. These products include specialty clothing brushes and adhesive-based rollers as a means to remove loosely bound particulates, soils, and hairs. Certain stain pretreatments permit removal of stain spots from clothing without having to subject the article to a complete cleaning process. Fabric deodorizing sprays facilitate masking or removal of odors from the clothing article.
While some of these approaches do improve the overall appearance of the clothing article, they are limited typically to the treatment method employed. For example, while a clothing brush may be able to remove pet hairs from a sports coat, any odors that may derive from perfume or cigarette smoke will persist on the sports coat. Thus, there is currently a need to offer a more comprehensive approach to restoring clothing articles to their clean appearance.